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Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

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Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#351

Post by MetalGuru »

OrwellianChild wrote: post #309
PurpleBoxDragon wrote: post #261

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>Over a reasonable horizon, you weren't profitable. The average worker isn't allowed to do that even when they lose money in a given year. Why is it so naturally assumed to be acceptable for a business to do it? Maybe the time is to just remove the loopholes in general from both business and personal income taxes.

If the average worker has any stock or index fund investments, that worker absolutely can take advantage of this (in the U.S.). It's called tax-loss harvesting - worth reading about here [1]. [1] https://www.madfientist.com/tax-loss-harvesting/

Tax-loss harvesting is different than carrying losses from previous years forward. And in the case of tax-loss harvesting, the company wouldn't be realizing massive profits for that year because said profits would be offset by investment losses.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#352

Post by throwaway190102 »

AlexTWithBeard wrote: post #329
chongli wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is it so naturally assumed to be acceptable for a business to do it? Because a business isn't a person. Taxing a business is taking real money away from payrolls, money that would get taxed again anyway once it was paid out. Corporate income tax only makes sense when you look at it as a barrier to entry for competition in the marketplace. Big companies like Netflix know how to avoid taxes. Small companies don't.…

Taxing a business is taking real money away from payrolls Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think payroll expenses are not a part of profit, so no double taxation here.

You are correct. Payroll is part of expenses.

Oversimplified:

Profit = $Revenue - $Expenses

Tax = $profit % $Tax_rate

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#353

Post by syn0byte »

sosborn wrote: post #197
markovbot wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've voted in every election I since I turned 18 and nothing seems to have been done about this and many other things. But issues that megacorps care about happen right away. Voting isn't a real solution to unchecked corporate lobbying.

> I've voted in every election I since I turned 18 and nothing seems to have been done about this and many other things. It is also possible that the majority doesn't feel (read: vote) the same way about these issues as you. Would that mean that the system is flawed?

Results clearly indicate that isn't the case. EG the 2000 and 2016 elections.

The level of cognitive dissonance the public has about politics is the most disheartening part of the whole burning shit show. Remember America; It's your own fault if he beats you, you made him do it.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#354

Post by drugme »

driverdan wrote: post #34

Rather than being outraged at the headline, what are the actual details? Why were they able to pay no taxes? Was it due to carried losses or something like that? Anyone mad at a company for not pay taxes is misdirecting their anger. Companies follow the law. If you don't like the law elect different politicians. Don't get mad at companies that follow the law.

Don't get mad at companies that follow the law.

The companies... make the law. That's what people are angry about.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#355

Post by frgtpsswrdlame »

burp3141 wrote: post #120

I can't access the article or the cache but here is Netflix's latest annual filing at the SEC https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/viewer?action=view&cik=1065280&a... They made 1.2 billion in 2018 income before taxes compared to 485 million last year. The corporate tax rate was brought down from 35% to 21% in 2018. So they should have paid 257 million in Federal, 33.6 in State and 63 million in foreign taxes With the Federal…

Nice, thanks for the digging.

>Federal and California research and development credits (“R&D”)

How is an entertainment company receiving R&D tax credits? I understand the case for pharmaceuticals, not sure I get it here.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#356

Post by throwaway190102 »

pathseeker wrote: post #341
AlexTWithBeard wrote: post #329

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Taxing a business is taking real money away from payrolls Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think payroll expenses are not a part of profit, so no double taxation here.

>Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think payroll expenses are not a part of profit, so no double taxation here. The point is that any money that exits a corporation gets taxed again somewhere. So if a company does really well one year and makes a profit, it gets taxed on that profit even if it keeps it in the bank. Then they use that remaining profit to pay payroll next year and then employees or owners get taxed again.

I don't think that's quite how that works.

But your point on double-taxation is certainly valid in some contexts.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#357

Post by AmericanChopper »

naasking wrote: post #227
undecisive wrote: post #204

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Aside from the fact that many countries have ways of limiting lobbyist influence through law, a simple but dramatic way would be to say: 0. Lobbying is a right, but one that can only be exercised by individual citizens, not corporations. 1. Anyone who wishes to "lobby" congressional candidates or congresspersons must register their financial interests 2. Make it illegal to directly accept money for lobbying services…

> 0. Lobbying is a right, but one that can only be exercised by individual citizens, not corporations. So charities and environmental groups can't lobby? Lobbying for them means designating a representative. How is that any different from what corporations are doing? They just happen to have deeper pockets. Furthermore, the fact that they have deep pockets is actually important . It means they reflect an important as…

>So charities and environmental groups can't lobby?

Incase you didn’t know, all tax-exempt charitable organisations are already severely limited in how they’re allowed to engage in politics. They’re never allowed to endorse candidates, or directly or indirectly campaign for them.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#358

Post by ashray5 »

Putting aside the accounting/tax rules, why should a corporation be taxed heavily? So the government can decide to squander the tax money? I'd rather have the money go in the pocket of shareholders (pension funds, individuals, index fund holders, etc.) and give people a choice on how to spend those corporate tax savings. Wait, these individuals get taxed at a reasonable rate when they sell the stock or when they pay sales tax on purchases made from the stock winnings.. Hmmm, maybe government is not losing on taxes after all?

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#359

Post by andrewla »

AlexTWithBeard wrote: post #326
andrewla wrote: post #280

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Business taxes and personal taxes are different. Businesses pay taxes on income, while individuals pay taxes on revenue. The differences are significant enough that any sort of parallel like this does not hold a lot of value. Yes, it might make sense to disallow this for corporations, but the justification seems reasonable -- it's not a loophole that allows corporations to take home huge amounts of money without payi…

Individuals pay taxes on income as well. Professional expenses are usually deductible, but most of W2 people (including myself) don't have too much to deduct.

I guess I should have said "businesses pay taxes on profit" instead of "income". Any expenditures that can be reasonably said to work towards the operation of the business are deductible. For individuals that is clearly not the case; things like paying for food to eat, rent, medical expenses (generally), or purchases of cars, etc., are explicitly excluded.

Re: Netflix Posted Biggest-Ever Profit in 2018 and Paid $0 in Income Taxes

#360

Post by AjithAntony »

spullara wrote: post #306
deeviant wrote: post #292

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Except a large portion of revenue does not go to workers, but to shareholders, who pay far less taxes then those who strain their backs in creating said revenue.

For companies like Netflix that don't pay dividends, none of it is going to shareholders.

All of a corporations actions are to create shareholder value. Retaining earnings and investment in growth does that too. If it wasn't you'd get some activist investors rallying for a takeover.

The underlying issue seems to be whether it is ethical for a business owner to make money.

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